Nye Frankie Newman dead: British freerunner dies in 'accident' on Paris metro

'He was the type of guy who had no regrets in his life and lived every day like it was his last,' says friend and fellow parkour enthusiast

His parkour group Brewman made headlines in early December after its member, Rikke Brewer, shared video footage of him on top of a Metro train in Paris (Nye Frankie Newman / Facebook)

A British free runner has died in an accident on the Paris metro on New Years Day.

Nye Frankie Newman, from Guilford, was a rising young star in the parkour scene, a sport which sees people climb and jump over obstacles in urban spaces.

The 17-year-old, who has been described as “inspirational” and “a strong parkour enthusiast“, was part of a group called Brewman which has made headlines for "train surfing".

Luke Stones, a fellow member of the parkour group, has insisted that Newman was not train surfing at the time of his death.

“Nye Newman passed away today in Paris after a train accident on the metro,” Mr stones wrote in a Facebook post. “He wasn't train surfing as many of you may assume, many of you may think it's a joke and we really wish it was, but it isn't.”

He described the urban explorer as a key founding member of their team and someone with a positive, fearless outlook on life.

“Nye was an incredible human being who was always up for anything, he experienced things in his short life, that many won’t experience in their life times,” he wrote.

“He was the type of guy who had no regrets in his life and lived every day like it was his last.”

Photographs on Mr Newman's social media accounts show him somersaulting on the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland and jumping between buildings in Hong Kong.

In his last Facebook post, shared the day before he died, he posted a photo of himself on the top of a building. He said he “felt blessed” and listed the countries he had explored in the last year.

“2016: Greece, Morocco, Spain, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Finland, China, The Philippines, Hong Kong and The Netherlands,” he said.

“It’s been a hectic year full of lots of mental memories and some unfortunate things like leaving the EU, but hopefully it will all only lead to a better future.”

His parkour group Brewman made headlines in early December after its member, Rikke Brewer, shared video footage of him on top of a Metro train in Paris.

The group will host a “remembrance jam” in Guildford Town Centre on 4 March where they will train for the day in honour of him. More than 300 people are expected to attend the event which is called “The end is nye”. Tributes from fellow parkour enthusiasts and fans of his have flooded in on social media.